south africa!

So the time has come to tell of South Africa, a beautiful country with even more beautiful people that have captured my heart a little. Sorry for such the long post - it could have been much longer though - I'll keep it shorter from now on, hopefully.
No pictures yet because I still can’t get on the internet with my computer, but hopefully soon. Anyways…..
The 20 of us flew into Johannesburg on the 28th of January and just got settled in this guest house right next to where Desmond Tutu went to school :)

The first day we took a tour of Soweto, a township/”suburb” of Johannesburg. Soweto has about 4 or 5 million people in it and Joburg totals around 14 or 15 million people, so a lot. We toured around and saw a lot of houses, ranging from very large nice houses to tiny shacks. We went to the school where the 1976 student protests started which sparked a lot of international attention but mostly added a lot to the anti-apartheid movements within South Africa. We went to the Hector Peterson (first boy who died during protests) museum which beautifully portrayed the story of Soweto and the protests. People in Soweto are very proud of their city and all it’s history, rightfully so.

The next day we went to the apartheid museum which was incredible. It was constructed and planned out so wonderfully. It brings forth a lot of deep emotions and is very informative. It is so nice to be able to see what I have studied and discuss it with other people. Sometimes when I stop for a few minutes and think about what South Africa has experienced as a country I'm overwhelmed. The pain and hurt is unimaginalbe and the struggle was so strong, but the people are so happy now because they have gained their independence. After that we visited an orphanage in Soweto which seemed to be doing a lot of good for those kids and the community it was in. Then we went to a park and discussed what we had experienced so far, which was nice because it is hard to take in everything I’m seeing and feeling.

Next day, we went to the Khotso House which I had read about because it was bombed during apartheid. It hosts the South African Council of Churches and we got to talk to the Secretary General, Eddie Makue, who was brilliant and absolutely fascinating. The churches in South Africa were such an important role in fighting apartheid and are really working hard for economic justice now. That night we headed to Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, which was about an hour away. We just went around and ate out that night which was fun.
Pretoria is definitely different than Johannesburg and especially Soweto. There is a lot of white influence there and larger Afrikaner population. We went to this one area that was completely Afrikaners which was good to see, to know that separation still occurs, but sad to see because it shows that there is still a lot of apartheid occurring. Anyways that day we went to the Voortrekker Monument which was strange. It is hard to visit a monument which celebrates a history of a people who oppressed and killed so many South Africans. Then we ate at the Parliament Building gardens and walked around the Parliament. Urbanus, our professor who is from Namibia, said it was very difficult for him to come there because of the history of Pretoria, it was the think tank and enforcer of the apartheid regime so it brings back a lot of bad feelings. However I have been surprised of how forgiving most South Africans are and how accepting to others most are; there is so much hope in South Africa, you can just feel it.

Next day we went to the US Embassy which was really interesting. Needless to say I don’t agree how the embassy works but it was interesting to learn about it. Then we came back to Joburg and packed for our home stays.

The home stay has been by far the best part of the trip so far. Friday night we headed over, we did this one in pairs. We arrived at our host family and meet everyone: Moureen, our mom, Karabo, 20 year old sister with a nine-month baby, Saza, our 15 year old sister, and Mabule our 5 year old sister, plus all the neighbours and family friends who we spent a lot of time with and were basically family. That night we ate cow intestines which was probably the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had in my life, but I managed to eat about half which I was proud of. Then we walked around and met people. Everyone was so welcoming and giving towards us. The next day we woke up and ate an enormous breakfast then walked around to meet more people. It is so incredible how friendly and loving every person we met was, just amazing. We met this traditional healer which was fascinating; she talked to us about what she did for about an hour. She had a patient with her and told us what everything she used was for. It was interesting because she did it all in the name of God and has had a lot of success. It was incredible. Then she danced for us and the whole family joined in and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Then we went to a birthday party for a 10 year old. By the end of the night there were at least 100 people there. It was defiantly a cultural experience I won’t forget. I played a lot which children and danced and ate a lot and met so many people. The race politics is very interesting in this country. People in Soweto are surprised to see us there. Most children are fascinated by us, and the more elderly people are so appreciative to see us there, and it differs as lot with everyone in between. The next day we went to church which was beautiful. Then we walked around the neighbourhood again and met with people and just talked. The sense of community here is so strong. Then we went to this soccer meeting, which was kind of confusing but it ended soon and we just hung out with the people for a few hours. Everyone is so excited about 2010, when South Africa hosts the world cup. Then we walked by Nelson Mandela’s old home and Desmond Tutu’s new home (we tried ringing the door but no answer :) ). We came back to our home and relaxed and talked with people. That seemed to happen a lot, just sitting around and talking or dancing which was wonderful. Alcohol seemed to be a big problem in my neighbourhood however. Our mom sold beer on the side so we hung out with a lot of hard core alcoholics. They were all wonderful people though. Overall the weekend was one of the best experiences of my life and I will never forget the beautiful people and how wonderful I felt living there, despite the awkward circumstances at times and cultural differences. I fell in love with Soweto that weekend.

We just reflected and relaxed the next day which was a nice change of pace.
Next day we went to Museum Africa which was kind of a bust but the part where we saw the migration compounds where workers stayed who worked in the mines during apartheid was good to see. They looked like concentration camps. We went to a market and a play the evening which was interesting.

And that my friends was South Africa. I hope to go back this summer/winter. I loved it and saw so much beauty, not just in the landscape but the people. It has such a rough history and has a lot of work to do before real justice is done, but there is so much hope and beauty in the people. It was a truly inspiring trip.